After a strong 2013 it took less than one week for things to get ugly for Eddie Rosario in 2014. In early January he was suspended 50 games for a second positive marijuana test, causing him to sit out until late May. When he returned the Twins demoted him back to high Single-A despite his playing 70 games at Double-A the previous season. And then when a promotion pushed him up to Double-A again in June he hit .237/.277/.396 with an ugly 68/17 K/BB ratio in 79 games there.

Oh, and after two years trying to convert him to second base the Twins basically gave up on that project and played Rosario mostly in the outfield. Because of his limited center field defense and Byron Buxton's presence he's never going to be the Twins' long-term starter there, which means Rosario will have to put his plus speed to good use in a corner spot and prove that his bat can be an asset in a place often home to sluggers.

So far he hasn't done that, hitting .260/.302/.403 with 12 homers and a 135/38 K/BB ratio in 149 games at Double-A. Rosario is still just 23 years old, so there's time for his power and/or plate discipline to develop further, but right now his offensive game revolves around batting average. Starting strong could get Rosario called up to the Twins by midseason and the good news is that being added to the 40-man roster means he's no longer subject to testing for marijuana usage.

In recent years the Twins have gone very heavy on drafting hard-throwing college relievers and the returns have been underwhelming so far. That could change with Nick Burdi, their hardest-throwing college reliever yet. His college numbers at Louisville were video game-level ridiculous, with a 0.62 ERA and 127 strikeouts in 73 innings for 2013/2014, and Baseball America's pre-draft scouting report unequivocally called him "the hardest thrower in college baseball."

He was originally drafted by the Twins in the 24th round out of high school and they picked him again last year, this time 46th overall. He signed for $1.2 million and skipped rookie-ball, starting his pro career at low Single-A and quickly moving up to high Single-A. Between the two levels the 6-foot-5 right-hander racked up an incredible 38 strikeouts in 20 innings while regularly cracking 100 miles per hour. His low-90s slider (yes, low-90s slider) is considered a plus pitch too.

College relievers in other organizations tend to move quickly through the minors and while the Twins in general tend to hold back their draft picks Burdi making it to Fort Myers already is a sign they have him on the fast track. As you might expect from a triple-digit thrower his control needs a lot of work, but his walk rate is merely bad and not disastrous. Burdi could be the first pitcher to truly usher the Twins into the modern era of high-velocity arms and he could do it in 2015.

Lewis Thorpe was signed out of Australia by the Twins for $500,000 as a 16-year-old and one year later he dominated rookie-ball hitters in his pro debut, racking up 64 strikeouts versus six walks in 44 innings. Convinced he was ready for full-season competition, the Twins had Thorpe skip advanced rookie-ball and sent him to low Single-A as an 18-year-old. Not surprisingly he got off to a rough start, allowing 13 runs in his first 18 innings.

Thorpe turned things around quickly and finished the season with a 12-start stretch in which he posted a 2.52 ERA and 73/26 K/BB ratio in 54 innings while holding opponents to a .213 batting average. Those great numbers become spectacular numbers when you consider he was the only 18-year-old in the entire Midwest League to throw at least 70 innings and the average age of the hitters he faced was 22.

Things came to a screeching halt in September when Thorpe was diagnosed with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow, which can often lead to Tommy John surgery. He skipped pitching winter ball in Australia and is expected to be ready for Opening Day, but given the Twins' recent history with such things it's hard not to be pessimistic. If healthy Thorpe has top-of-the-rotation upside and his performance at such a young age really stands out.

When the Twins needed emergency infield depth they surprisingly called up Jorge Polanco from Single-A one week before his 21st birthday, making him the youngest position player to debut for the team since Joe Mauer in 2004 and just the second to do so before turning 21 since 1980. He ended up starting just one game for the Twins, spending most of the season at Single-A before moving up to Double-A for the final six weeks.

Polanco did his usual thing in Fort Myers, hitting for a strong batting average and modest power while controlling the strike zone. He hit .281 following the promotion to Double-A, but it came with very little power and a poor 28/9 K/BB ratio in 37 games. He was one of the youngest players in the Eastern League, so simply holding his own for New Britain was an accomplishment. Polanco also resumed playing mostly shortstop after playing more second base than shortstop in 2013.

His raw numbers aren't eye-popping, but Polanco has moved quickly through the system while faring well and moving him back to shortstop is a positive long-term sign for his defensive value regardless of which position he ends up calling home. He projects as a solid player on both sides of the ball and that hasn't been said about many Twins middle infield prospects for a long time. Despite his early debut Polanco may not factor into the Twins' plans until 2016.

For the third time in three years the Twins had a top-five pick and used it on a high school player, taking Florida shortstop Nick Gordon. His father, Tom Gordon, was a three-time All-Star pitcher with 21 seasons in the majors and his brother, Dee Gordon, led the majors in stolen bases last season and is currently the Marlins' starting second baseman. Nick Gordon signed for $3.85 million as the fifth overall pick and made his pro debut in advanced rookie-ball.

He got off to a fast start and then cooled down, finishing at .294/.333/.366 with one homer in 57 games. His lack of power was expected, although Baseball America's pre-draft scouting report was convinced his swing has the potential to develop more pop. Gordon was raw at the plate, striking out 45 times compared to 11 walks, and he was successful on just 11 of 18 steal attempts while showing speed that's several notches below his brother.

By drafting Gordon at No. 5 despite a lack of big-time offensive upside the Twins clearly think he has a chance to be a plus defensive shortstop with a solid bat, which is a tough combo to find as Twins fans know all too well. However, outside the organization opinions on his long-term ability to play shortstop seem mixed and as a second baseman Gordon's skill set is far less promising. Last time the Twins used a top-10 pick on a high school shortstop: Michael Cuddyer in 1997.

As a 16-year-old Max Kepler was big and fast with lots of tools and a unique background that included his parents meeting as performers in the German ballet, so when the Twins signed him out of Germany for $800,000 he was viewed as an intriguing, high-upside prospect. Five seasons later some of that intrigue and upside have vanished, in part because Kepler has struggled to stay healthy and in part because his performance beyond rookie-ball has underwhelmed.

Kepler played 163 games at Single-A during the past two seasons, hitting .253/.325/.405 with 14 homers. He also seems less and less likely to stick in center field, playing quite a bit of right field and first base. On the other hand Kepler was one of the Florida State League's youngest regulars last season at age 21, so even holding his own there is a positive sign. And after a bad first three months Kepler finished the year on a high note by hitting .303/.359/.442 in July and August.

Kepler is no longer incredibly young and no longer oozes upside, so now he simply needs to start hitting and in particular turn his 6-foot-4 frame and power potential into actual homers. Despite not playing above Single-A he was added to the 40-man roster, which means the clock is ticking on Kepler showing he belongs in the majors and the door is open for him to reach Minnesota at some point this season if he plays well.

In their ongoing effort to add more high-end velocity to the organization the Twins picked San Diego State right-hander Michael Cederoth in the third round last year. Cederoth was a starter in 2012 and 2013, but shifted to the bullpen in 2014 and topped out at 100 miles per hour while racking up 20 saves with a 2.28 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 52 innings. Despite that relief success Cederoth made his pro debut as a starter and fared pretty well for rookie-level Elizabethton.

Making the abbreviated outings that are common for rookie-ball starters, he posted a 3.55 ERA with just one homer allowed and a 42/18 K/BB ratio in 46 innings. His fastball predictably wasn't able to reach triple-digits as a starter, but Cederoth worked in the mid-90s and his control was encouraging. He walked 3.5 per nine innings, which is a lot, but in college Cederoth walked 5.2 per nine innings.

Converting hard-throwing college relievers into pro starters has repeatedly gone poorly for the Twins in recent years and Cederoth's mediocre results as a college starter leave even less room for optimism, but he's 6-foot-6 with an equally big fastball and there's always a role in the majors for that profile even if it's yet to be determined. This year he'll make the jump up to full-season competition at Single-A and try to develop his secondary pitches.

When the Twins signed Amaurys Minier for $1.4 million as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic there were immediate comparisons to Miguel Sano, but those quieted down when he hit .214 at rookie-ball in his pro debut. However, within the ugly batting average Minier showed a ton of power and last season he made it clear why the Twins were so high on him by crushing the Gulf Coast League in his second go-around.

Minier hit .292/.405/.520 with eight homers, 21 total extra-base hits, and 29 walks in 53 games, leading the GCL in homers and ranking third in both slugging percentage and OPS. And he did so while playing the entire season at age 18. He was signed as a shortstop, debuted at third base, and played left field and first base last season, but his eventual defensive home is secondary to Minier's offensive upside as a switch-hitting slugger.

Rookie-ball numbers should be viewed skeptically because the level of competition is inconsistent and the sample size is small, but Minier's production was special. He posted a .925 OPS, which is the highest by any Twins prospect in the Gulf Coast League during the past decade. And the only Twins prospects in the Gulf Coast League within 30 points of his OPS from 2005-2014 were Chris Parmelee (.901 in 2006), Aaron Hicks (.900 in 2008), and Kennys Vargas (.895 in 2010).

Stephen Gonsalves was viewed as a first-round talent in 2013, but fell to the Twins in the fourth round following a suspension during his senior year of high school in California and then signed for second-round money at $700,000. His pro debut was impressive, as the 6-foot-5 lefty logged 28 rookie-ball innings with a 0.95 ERA and 39/11 K/BB ratio without allowing a homer. He stayed in rookie-ball to begin last season and then moved up to low Single-A, where he thrived at age 19.

Despite being younger than around 90 percent of the pitchers in the Midwest League he started eight games for Cedar Rapids with a 3.19 ERA and 44/11 K/BB ratio in 37 innings, striking out 30 percent of the batters he faced while opponents hit .228 with one homer. Toss in his rookie-ball numbers and through two pro seasons Gonsalves has a combined 2.39 ERA with 109 strikeouts and two homers allowed in 94 innings.

His control still needs work and Gonsalves' off-speed pitches generally receive mediocre reviews, both of which may need to change for his success to continue against tougher competition if his fastball stays in the low-90s. He also needs to handle a full-season workload for the first time at age 20, so expectations should be held in check, but Gonsalves looks like a potential mid-rotation starter down the road if things go well.

When the Twins acquired Trevor May from the Phillies along with Vance Worley in exchange for Ben Revere he was coming off an underwhelming 2012 season at Double-A. They had him repeat the level in 2013 with similarly mediocre results, but May moved up to Triple-A last year and took a big step forward. He posted a 2.84 ERA with 94 strikeouts in 98 innings, cut his walk rate by 15 percent, and allowed just four homers after previously struggling to limit long balls.

That earned May an August call-up to the majors, where everything unraveled. His debut was a mess, as he issued seven walks in two innings and 10 of 15 batters reached base. He continued to struggle for the next few starts and finished with a hideous 7.88 ERA, but May actually showed signs of progress down the stretch. He posted a strong 41/9 K/BB ratio in his final 37 innings, averaged 92 miles per hour with his fastball, and generated a solid number of swinging strikes.

There's no doubt that it was a sour first taste of the majors, but May at least showed glimpses of his potential to match the 18 good starts at Triple-A. He'll likely be a part of the Twins' rotation at some point in 2015 and if May can throw strikes he's capable of being a mid-rotation starter. At age 25 and with 400 innings between Double-A and Triple-A his leash may not be particularly long considering the Twins were so hesitant to promote him in the first place.

• Now that the Twins have re-signed Torii Hunter and the Timberwolves have traded for Kevin Garnett, it seems only fair that the Vikings talk Randy Moss out of retirement. To get in the mood for Garnett's return to Minnesota, here are some highlights from his fist go-around:

It's not shown in the above video, but I've missed that thing where Garnett stubbornly refuses to let opponents make dead-ball shots after whistles and catches them all.

• Minnesotans need constant validation from non-Minnesotans that we're good and nice and not at all insane for living in this weather, so this The Atlantic article is a big hit locally.

Topics for this week's "Gleeman and The Geek" episode included Bovada's over/under line for the Twins' win total, James Shields finding a home, Andrew Wiggins vs. Byron Buxton, Jared Burton joining Scott Baker on the Yankees, the best Twins rotations of the Ron Gardenhire era, the front office's expectations for 2015, Joe Mauer's past pitch-framing, and lots of mailbag questions.